Swarthmore men advance to Centennial Conference final on penalty kicks
SWARTHMORE, Pa. – There's just something about the crisp November air that brings out the Swarthmore College men's soccer team's flair for the dramatic.
In a Centennial Conference semifinal to remember, junior Fabian Castro converted Swarthmore's final penalty kick to propel the Garnet into the Centennial Conference Championship Final, as No. 1 seed Swarthmore advanced past No. 4 seed Johns Hopkins on penalty kicks 1-1 (20T 4-2 PKs) on Saturday evening from Clothier Field.
The Garnet (14-1-3) move to Sunday's championship game, where it will face No. 3 seed Muhlenberg (11-1-6) from Clothier Field at 3:00 p.m.
Down 1-0 late in the second half, the Garnet tied the match thanks to none other than senior Philippe Celestin – the hero from the 2009 playoff run. Celestin scored his first goal of the season in the 74th minute, when he blasted a deflected ball near the top the box into the back of the net, sending the Garnet crowd into a frenzy. Celestin now has three career goals: one in the first game of his career, one in overtime to beat Hobart in the 2009 NCAA Second Round, and this goal to tie the game against Hopkins.
The Garnet was forced to battle the Blue Jays for the entire 110 minutes, as the physical contest saw the teams combine for 40 fouls.
Despite some early chances - including a Castro shot that was stopped by a Hopkins defender on the goal line in the 31st minute - the Blue Jays struck first in the 37th minute when senior Scott Bukoski found the far post from the front of the goal to give the Blue Jays the early 1-0 lead. The goal was Bukoski's fifth career Centennial Conference Championship goal, setting a new individual record.
From there, the Garnet struggled to find the equalizer well into the second half, as a composed Blue Jay defense kept Swarthmore off the scoreboard. That all changed in the 74th minute, when Celestin's magic came to life again, as the senior took a deflected ball off a free kick, created space, and fired a shot over the head of Johns Hopkins goalkeepr Ravi Gill, making it a 1-1 game.
In overtime, chances were limited for both squads, but Hopkins nearly came away with the victory in the final seconds, as shots from Danny Reategui and Thomas Mourmouras just missed wide in the final minute of play.
In penalty kicks, Swarthmore came through with everything on the line. After missing its first penalty kick, sophomore Kieran Reichert, junior David Sterngold, junior Roberto Contreras IV and Castro all converted for the Garnet while junior goalkeeper David D'Annunzio stonewalled the Blue Jays' final attempt. As Castro's final shot sailed past the diving Hopkins' keeper, the euphoric Garnet bench poured on to the field, cheered on by the Swat faithful.
Swarthmore advances to the championship match for the second time in program history; the first came in 2008, when the Garnet defeated Johns Hopkins 1-0 for the title.
The match also extends the Garnet's unbeaten streak at Clothier Field to 24 games.
Swarthmore moves to 2-0 all-time in Centennial Conference playoff penalty-kick games, while Johns Hopkins drops to 4-2.
Swarthmore held advantages in shots (17-13), shots on goal (10-5) and corners (6-3).
In the first semifinal, the No. 3 seed Mules advanced to the championship match after a convincing 4-0 victory over No. 2 seed Franklin & Marshall. Danny Way tied a Centennial Conference single-game record by scoring two goals, while Sean Williams added a goal and two assists.
